Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir in the Zombie Apocalypse
by Ciitadel
Summary: This is an au where instead of our duo being Paris's most famous superheroes, Marinette and Adrien are just trying to survive in a permanently changed world. Meeting each other under their alias's of Ladybug and Chat Noir, the two scavengers embark on a quest to survive, and maybe even help the dying world while they're at it.
1. Chapter 1

The girls hands trembled with nerves as she quickly grabbed the cans of food beneath the counter. She didn't like being out alone, but knew someone had to watch the camp. Her chest was thumping and her breath came in short gasps, she kept hearing what seemed like footsteps but when she turned, there was nothing there. _Marinette, you're just being paranoid. You already checked the area, there's no zombies nearby. Just hurry up and you'll be back to Alya before you know it,_ She thought, giving herself a mental pep talk. The wind howled through the blasted out windows, the glass that once filled them having been shattered long ago. Marinette shivered and wrapped her jacket around herself, but the cold seeped through to her skin anyway.

The winter months were going to be difficult, it was only autumn and she was already this cold! That's why Alya had sent her out in the first place, she knew they needed to stock up on food before all the animals went into hibernation. Alya was always like that, planning ahead. That's how they had survived all this time when the dead began to rise up, Marinette knew she would've joined the hordes of corpses a long time ago if Alya and her weren't together when this all had gone down. She shuddered at the memory of it. The terror that had swept the streets, the panic, the death… All of it was awful but Alya somehow managed to remain calm as the undead swarmed through the streets of Paris. The minute she heard the news she went over to Marinette's house and helped her barricade her parent's bakery. Alya had known the streets would be clogged with traffic, so there was no hope of getting out of the city for awhile. They had waited in there for a month, and watched with horror as the people of Paris died and came back in a never ending cycle. Every day they would hear banging on the door and would shrink back in Marinette's room, waiting for the barricade to inevitably collapse. But by some miracle it didn't and within a month things cleared out enough for them to escape. They'd been on the run ever since as a team.

Marinette reminisced over all of this as she scavenged, her hands deftly grabbing water and food and placing it neatly inside her backpack. She stood up after clearing the counter out, and moved on to the next one. She opened a drawer and almost squealed with delight at what she saw. It was a bottle of painkillers, something that was a very rare and coveted commodity these days. When you were constantly running for your life, pain was simply a constant state of being. Having just an hour of relief would be utter heaven to anyone who had survived this long. Just as she was about to pick up the pills like ambrosia, Marinette heard the unmistakable click of a gun turning off the safety behind her head.

"Drop. The. Pills." A male voice said behind her. The tone was emotionless and cold, and Marinette tried not to show her fear. Slowly she put the pills down, grabbing her knife out of her belt sheath with her other arm as subtly as she could, her hands shaking violently. Her heart was pounding out of her chest completely now, beads of sweat forming on her forehead and behind the goggles she wore. The pills touched the table, the noise like thunder in the silent room.

"There we go. Now turn around slowly." Swallowing, she prepared herself for what to do. Tightening her grip on the knife till her knuckles turned white, she ducked and whirled around, hearing the gunshot go off right where her head had been. Within seconds she had a knife held to her attacker's throat, and pushed him up against a wall.

Staring back at her were crystal green eyes framed by messy blonde hair and a pair of black goggles similar to her red ones. Now his eyes were wide with fear as she pressed the cold sharpened blade against his thumping artery, and he gulped.

"Drop. The. Gun." She said, mimicking his tone. He glared at her, his eyes tiny jewels of hate, and the clang of the gun dropping echoed around the room like a ghost. "Good. Now I'm going to take your gun and the pills, and leave. If you follow me, I will _not_ hesitate to blow your brains out or slit your throat, whichever is your preference." She smiled sarcastically at him, and his frown deepened.

"Fine I won't follow you. I just need those pills more than you." He said, his voice full of contempt. They were so close she could feel his breath on her face, feel his chest move in and out calmly. He didn't seem to be lying.

"What do you mean? We all need painkillers as much as the next guy. Everyone has that one friend or family member who is in 'terrible pain' so you feel sympathetic and give them your loot. Then you find them a week later overdosed in a ditch with all the pills gone, so don't waste your bullshit story on me." She told him angrily. They stared each other down for a moment more, and then he sighed in defeat.

"Okay. You're right, we probably need the pain pills for similar reasons. You found them first so I suppose I'll let you have them." He huffed. She stared at him, unsure if he was tricking her or not.

"Not much of a choice when I have a knife to your throat. Now when I bend down to grab your gun don't move a muscle or else this knife is going in your groin." She said flatly, laughing internally at his shocked expression. He nodded hesitantly and she bent down, keeping her eyes trained in his the entire time. She noticed he seemed young, almost about the same age as her in fact. That surprised her, everyone who was her age was dead by now. Death had claimed many, the younger people seeming more willing to step into Death's relieving grasp than others. She grasped the cool metal object in her hand, the weight of the pistol surprising her. Then she slowly stood back up, and he watched her with fascination, examining her as she was examining him.

Marinette was aware she looked like a mess, but frankly she didn't care. Her black pigtailed hair was very greasy and her pale skin was covered with soot and dirt. She and Alya tried to bathe as often as possible but lately the rivers had been much too cold to step foot in. She noticed the boy was dirty as well, but seemed very attractive from what she could see of his face.

"You're young." He said in an astonished tone.

"You are too." She replied casually, standing up to face him.

"How old are you?" He had a sense of wonder in his eyes, as if she was the first young person he'd seen in months. Who knows? Maybe she was. She pondered whether or not she should lie to him, but realized age no longer mattered that much.

"I'm sixteen. You?" He hesitated, probably wondering the same thing she was.

"Seventeen. The only other person my age I know right now is my best friend." He sighed as he said this, clearly wishing for things to change. Marinette had given up on that long ago, accepting the new world the way it was. The mood between them had shifted, they were no longer hostiles battling for supplies, but rather two kids trying to survive in a dying world.

"Same for me, my best friend is the only other person I've really spoken to in months." Marinette said, letting her grip on the weapons relax. Looking at him from further away, she saw he was dressed in all black with what seemed to be a pair of cat ears adorning his wavy blonde hair. Many people seemed to do that now, dressing however they wanted since it was the end of the world. Marinette couldn't criticize considering she was wearing red leggings with a black shirt and a red coat with black polka dots like a ladybug. Why a ladybug? She had no idea.

"Where did you live before this?" She asked, wondering if they might've known each other.

"I lived in Paris but was homeschooled." He blushed as he said this, as if embarrassed about this fact.

"I lived in Paris also! But homeschooling, wow that's unusual. My parents owned a bakery, maybe you visited it?" His eyes searched, focusing on if he had ever visited a bakery but to no avail. She didn't know why she would think she would know him, but he seemed familiar nonetheless.

Suddenly they both heard a crash at the end of the room. Immediately they both got into defensive positions and heard the indisputable groan of a living corpse shambling towards them. And it wasn't alone. A chorus of more groans joined it as shadows of bodies began to move by the wall. Marinette's heart began to race as her eyes widened with fear. Her breath began to come in short gasps again.

"We gotta go." The boy said, taking her hand with his leather clad one. She didn't protest although he was a complete stranger, because in that moment they were a team. Fear of death always brought people together in the worst of times, made even the most hateful enemies work together. Because when it came to life or death scenarios, most of the time people had a voice in their head shrieking "STAY ALIVE!". This was one of those times. Looking around, Marinette spotted a blasted out window out of the house they were in.

"There!" She pointed. He nodded and he boosted her up through the small spot. His trust in her was surprising, he didn't know her. She could leave him and keep his gun and not have to worry about him anymore, but she wouldn't do that. She landed on a box placed right below the opening, and grabbed his hand to pull him up. She could hear the groans getting louder as they came closer, their horrid rotting stench wafting around them and making her want to puke. With all her might, she strained her muscles as he clambered through the window. Then with a pop he was through and she fell backwards, landing on the ground rather ungracefully. They laid there together for a moment, their heavy breathing being the only noise as they regained their wits. That had been a close call, at least she was able to keep her backpack and the weapons, even though the pills were still inside. She looked to her companion, and he stared at the sky, seeming calm.

"You okay there?" She asked him, the worry evident in her voice. He looked over at her, and smiled a large grin.

"I'm purrfectly grand thanks to you! I would've been toast if you hadn't pulled me through that window, so thanks." She stared for a moment, shocked he would make a pun at this moment of all times.

"Did you just make a cat pun?" She asked frowning. She had never found puns that particularly funny and rather annoying. He laughed at that.

"Yes I did, I tend to do that sometimes because, ya know, I got the whole cat thing going on?" He said gesturing to the ears.

"I noticed. Why is that anyway?" Although it was commonplace to dress outlandishly now, everyone had different reasons.

"I don't know. Just always felt drawn to cats so when I found this cat headband when I was scavenging for a coat I figured why not? I mean you got the whole ladybug thing going on, why is that?" He gestured to her spots casually. Marinette paused, realizing she had never thought about why she dressed like a ladybug before. It just seemed natural.

"I don't know either, just feels right I suppose." He sat up and smiled at her, his green eyes no longer filled with hate but with happiness and curiosity behind his goggles. She looked up at the sky then, and gasped when she saw the orange and red streaks appearing.

"Oh no! My friend is going to be freaking out that I'm not back yet, I'm sorry I have to go. Here, you can have your gun back." She no longer was worried about him attacking her, the whole reason they had the confrontation was in a room filled with the living dead currently so they had no reason to fight. He didn't know her pack was bulging with food, and he seemed friendly.

"Thank you. But wait, I don't even know your name? And…" He looked down and blushed. "And, well I want to get to know you better. I mean it's dangerous out here, we could like, watch each other's backs while we scavenge maybe?" He scratched his head, clearly very embarrassed. Marinette giggled to herself. She didn't even know him, but for some inexplicable reason she trusted the blonde. Plus it was a tempting offer, she hated scavenging alone. Today had proved her worries right.

"I… I think that's a great idea, I mean after today looks like we could be a good team. We'll meet here in two days at noon, sound good? Hopefully the horde will have cleared out by then. And…" she thought about telling him her real name, but what good were those in this world? No one needed to know who you were, and a name could be a powerful thing.

"Call me Ladybug." She stated proudly, laughing. He smiled at that and an idea alighted his eyes.

"Ok then Ladybug. You can call me Chat Noir." His grin grew and she smiled back, the air between them light and trusting. Marinette then turned around to walk away, feeling his eyes boring into her head. Calling out loudly without turning around, she yelled,

"Nice meeting you Chat Noir!"

"It was a pleasure meeting you m'Lady!" He yelled back. The nickname made her grin like an idiot, and a weight in her chest lightened. She now had something to look forward to besides just surviving another day, she wanted to meet the silly cat again and know him better. She just felt drawn to him for some reason, and in her hopeless reality, she would take any excuse to keep on living.

Notes:

Let me know if you want more of this! This au just came to me randomly when I was trying to think of ideas for my next fanfic and now I really love this idea! Don't worry if you don't like au's I'm also working on another regular fanfic as well (maybe with some Alyanette? Maybe not but don't worry I'm still LadyNoir forever) Thank you so much and thank you all who read and enjoyed The Miraculous School Play! I never thought I'd get that many favorites and reviews! Love you all!


	2. Chapter 2

Adrien watched as the girl walked into the distance, her midnight pigtails bobbing with each step. He was entranced in her spell, she had been so calm and intelligent when they had gotten trapped, immediately knowing how to escape. Perhaps it was just because she was the first girl he'd met in months, but he knew he had to see her again. It frustrated him she hadn't told him her name, but he recognized it was unnecessary. Names didn't carry as much weight anymore, you could be anyone you wished to be. So Adrien became the outgoing black cat who told puns. Glancing at the sky himself, he realized it was becoming rather late and Nino would worry about him.

Surveying the area, he quickly located a safe route to make his way back to their camp. He jogged as he went, the darkening air sending a bolt of nervousness through him. But in his head, he kept thinking of her. He pictured her deep blue eyes hidden behind those red goggles alighted with wisdom and intelligence. He saw her soot covered face, her small pink lips pursed in thought. Adrien didn't know why these images flashed through his head, but he was drawn to her. This meeting had been fate, even though he had held a gun to her head. His chest felt light and there was a bounce in his step as he came upon their hidden base in the alleyway. He saw his best friend get up in panic as he heard Adrien's footsteps.

"Relax Nino it's only me." He said coming upon the small fire that was in front of their tent.

"Dude warn me earlier next time! You scared the shit outta me bro!" Nino said in his usual surfer twang. Adrien removed his goggles, leaving them around his neck as he sat down to warm his hands. He glanced at his best friend with his dirt-smudged glasses and brightly colored DJ outfit. And even in the apocalypse, Nino had a broken pair of orange headphones looped around his neck. His best friend sat down beside him, and then noticed the lack of loot on Adrien's person.

"Dude you didn't get anything?! We need more food and stuff you know that! What were you doing out there for so long?" Adrien sighed, feeling guilty that he hadn't been able to get anything. After pondering it for a moment, Adrine decided to tell his friend the truth. It wasn't good to lie to the person who saved your life on a regular basis.

"Okay, I can explain I swear. It's a long story though," He warne. Nino nodded for him to continue. "I was out looking for stuff when I came across this house. The front door was open so I thought it had already been raided but I heard a noise from the inside. I thought it was another corpse but something felt off so I silently snuck inside. That's when I saw this girl who was examining something in her hand. Even though I was behind her I could tell it was a bottle of painkillers." Nino's eyes expanded at that. "So obviously I wanted them. I looked around and saw she was alone, so I held a gun to her head and told her to put the pills down and turn around. She put the pills down but then she ducked and next thing I know I'm up against a wall and there's blade against my neck!"

"She robbed you?!"

"No, let me finish. So we're standing there and I'm not exactly in a good position. She told me to drop my gun, which I did, and she said she's taking my gun and the pills and leaving and not to follow her. I tried to lie and say I needed the pills more than her but she knew it was bullshit and called me out on it. Then she told me she was going to bend down to grab the gun and threatened to stab me in the groin if I moved at all, so obviously didn't move. While she did this I get a good look at her. Nino, I almost had a heart attack when I realized she was a kid like us. I asked her her age and she said she's sixteen! You know we haven't seen another teenager for months, and I was astonished to say the least. Then she asks how old I am and I tell her and she's surprised also and then we found out we both lived in Paris blah blah blah." He said to summarize their conversation.

"Then we both heard a groan coming from the front door and we both knew what that meant, and then we quickly realized there was a horde of them. Me and her looked back and forth, panicking and not knowing how to get out but then she pointed out a window and without thinking I gave her a boost through it. Then I realized how stupid that was and that she was probably going to leave me there as zombie food. The corpses got closer and I started smelling the rot on them and I thought all hope was lost. But then a hand came over and I grabbed it and this tiny girl managed to pull me up and through the window as well. How? I have no idea. Next thing I know we're both lying down and we catch our breath. Then we talked some more and she asked me about the cat ears after I said a cat pun."

"You did _not_ say a cat pun after almost dying man." He asked incredulously.

"Oh yes I did. And then I asked her why she was dressed like a ladybug because she was wearing a red coat with black polka dots on it and she had similar reasoning to mine. Finally she talks about needing to leave because her friend will miss her but suddenly like I really didn't want her to go. So I ask her name and if we can meet and scavenge together again because scavenging alone is dangerous and she agreed! But she didn't tell me her actual name, she said to call her Ladybug so I told her to call me Chat Noir. So yeah that's why I didn't get anything while scavenging." He finished. Nino stared at him for a moment, blinking slowly.

"You're telling me… you didn't get food because you ran into a girl?! Oh my god Agreste!" He sighed and facepalmed himself.

"I meant to but… she just had this aura about her Nino, it was hypnotizing." Adrien said dreamily.

"Well at least tell me what she looked like so I know she's a real person and not some imaginary hallucination your desperate brain made up." Adrien thought about it, realizing that would be a plausible explanation for why she was so dream-like. But then she wouldn't have helped him through that window if she wasn't real.

"I couldn't see her face that well because she had on red goggles like my black ones but… she had these big bluebell eyes and hair so black it was almost blue in these little pigtails…" He trailed off, staring vacantly into space imagining her again. Nino waved a hand in front of his face.

"Hello? Earth to Adrien? Stop daydreaming about your girl dude we need to eat and get inside the tent." Adrien snapped back to awareness, his bubble of joy ruined.

"Sorry, I'll grab more food when I meet up with her again." He apologized, feeling guilty for shirking his responsibility.

"It's fine dude, you were lovestruck! And anyway we're going down to the river tomorrow to catch some fish before it freezes so we can stock up then." Adrien nodded and finished eating his can of beans, his thoughts still of the magical girl. Suddenly tired, they climbed into the tent and zipped it shut after putting the fire out, lest the light draw the attention of the corpses. Adrien closed his eyes, letting his body relax as the mood in the air turned tranquil, and he quickly fell asleep in a sea of blue.


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning, Marinette was peppered by questions yet again by the very inquisitive Alya.

"Wait so tell me what this 'Chat Noir' looked like again?" Alya asked between a mouthful of canned peaches.

"I told you I couldn't see his face that well because of his goggles. But he was tan, had these bright crystal green eyes and wavy blonde hair. I swear he could've been a model if the world was still normal." She said sighing at the constant asking. Looking around, she felt relaxed by the tranquil nature scene. Their camp was by the river, which was gushing loudly and clearly beside them. The sky was a cloudless radiant blue, the trees only beginning to show the smallest hint of browning. A chorus of small songbirds chirped in the air, and the rustle of small woodland creatures could be heard in the bushes. The smell of pine and grass and fish permeated the air, and it gave Marinette an overall cheerful feeling. It was unusually warm as well, so neither girls had their jackets on.

"And remind me why you agreed to meet up with him again? He could be luring you into a trap Mari!" She said glaring at Marinette with disapproving eyes.

"I'm not stupid, I'll have my weapons with me. But he already had the chance to kill me, heck he could've left me in the house with the zombies no problem. But nope, he boosted me up first. I don't know Alya, for some reason I trust him, I can't explain it. You're just going to have to trust my instincts on this one." Marinette implored of her best friend. Sighing, Alya relented.

"Fine, I'll trust you. But _please_ don't get yourself killed." Her best friends stare was completely somber, and Marinette knew one of them couldn't handle losing the other. After all the two had been through, they were bonded for life and would never leave each other.

"Wasn't planning on it." Marinette's tone was completely serious as well, and Alya gave her a grateful smile. Then a crash in the bushes ruined the perfection of the nature around them, and the girls scrambled to find their weapons. Alya grabbed her double barrelled shotgun and Marinette grabbed her hatchet. They both trembled and were breathing raggedly as they stared at the foliage from where the noise came, waiting for the inevitable groan of corpses.

But that didn't come. Instead a teenage boy with orange headphones around his neck fell through and landed on his face in the dirt, laughing as he did so. A taller golden-haired boy followed more gracefully than his friend. The girls didn't relax their stances, but the boys hadn't spotted them yet.

"Dude, you totally tripped me!" The boy with the headphones said while standing up and brushing himself off, brandishing a distinct surfer accent.

"I did not, you just fell on that branch." The golden haired one replied, a smile on his face. He glanced up and spotted the two murderous girls and froze, tapping his friend on the shoulder. His friend turned around and spotted the girls as well, and froze in fear like the blonde.

"HEY!" Alya shouted threateningly. "What are you doing here!? This is OUR camp and we are armed." Her voice was deadly and malevolent, but Marinette could tell she was shaking. Both boys raised their hands up in surrender.

"Whoah! We just came to catch some fish from the river, we didn't even KNOW there was a camp down here." Headphones said, his hands still in the air.

"We don't mean any harm." Goldilocks added in. Alya tightened the grip on the shotgun and walked towards them, jerking her head for Marinette to follow. They approached cautiously, carefully scrutinizing the boy's movements. Goldilocks seemed familiar to Marinette but she didn't know why.

"Goldilocks, Headphones, drop any weapons you're carrying." Alya threatened. Both boys did as they were told and dropped two pistols and two hunting knives. Alya then looked at Marinette.

"Search them to make sure they aren't hiding anything." Marinette nodded, and she quickly patted Headphones down while still holding her hatchet. She found nothing and moved onto Goldilocks, who felt even more familiar up close. He seemed to feel some sort of recognition as well, as his eyes widened as she got closer. She patted him down as well but found nothing at all, and walked back to Alya. She breathed a small sigh of relief but kept her weapon trained on them.

"You can put your hands down." She said in a more relaxed tone. The boys did so very relieved. "Sorry for the pat down, can't be too careful. Now who are you and what are you doing here?" They glanced between each other, and Headphones elbowed his buddy nervously to answer.

"Um... I'm Adrien and this is Nino. Like we said we're just here to catch some fish and head back to our camp, we swear we didn't know there was a camp here." He said nervously, the truth very evident in his voice. After staring them both down for a tense minute, Alya took the shotgun off of them but kept it in her hands, Marinette followed suit. Both boys visibly relaxed and sighed with relief.

"Fine. I believe you. I'm Alya and this is Marinette, sorry about the intensity there, we've just been screwed over before and didn't want to repeat history." She said, holding out her hand to shake. The boy named Nino hesitantly held his hand out and they shook, and the tension in the air instantly melted. "How old are you guys anyway? It's unusual to see a fellow teenager these days."

"We're both seventeen." Adrien answered.

"Sixteen for the both of us." Alya replied cooly, her demeanor much more relaxed. Marinette found that she couldn't stop staring at the boy named Adrien, her half-recognition of him annoying her. "Look, since we kinda just held you at gunpoint wanna come over to our camp and sit down for a moment? You look like you've been walking a while." Marinette was surprised by her friendliness, she was normally more wary of strangers, but her judgement had always been correct so she trusted her. Both boys smiled.

"Yeah that'd actually be great, we walked all the way from the city so we're kinda tired." Adrien said, his green eyes glowing. The girls led them back over, making them leave their weapons on the ground. Alya didn't offer them any food, she wasn't that selfless, but she stirred the fire and boiled some more water to drink. Nino seemed to be admiring the rather cozy looking campsite.

"This is a pretty cool setup you guys have. How long have you been settled here?"

"About three months now." Marinette answered, surprising both of them by speaking. This whole time she had stayed quiet but she didn't want to seem like Alya's silent subordinate. "What about you? How long have you guys been in the city?"

"Only around a month, it's not exactly the safest place to be." Adrien said, smiling at her. It was then Marinette noticed how attractive he was, but still couldn't place where she'd seen his face.

"Yeah I know, yesterday I was scavenging in a house and in two seconds it was overrun by corpses. I was lucky I was able to shimmy out the window." Marinette said, leaving out the part about Chat Noir. That would raise too many questions she didn't feel like answering.

"They seem to come out of nowhere don't they?" Adrien responded, his voice slightly distance as if he was thinking of something.

"That's how they won." Alya muttered bitterly, silencing the casual conversation. The quiet stretched on for what seemed like an eternity, no one knowing how to respond to that blunt statement. Marinette decided to change the subject.

"So where are you guys from?"

"We came from Paris, we were lucky to get out of the city when the first wave hit dude, the traffic was madness!" Nino exclaimed, grateful for the new topic.

"Wow, we came from Paris also. But Alya and I knew we couldn't get through the throng of cars, so we barricaded ourselves in my parent's bakery for about a month…" She trailed off, her voice getting quieter. _Great now you've made things awkward again, good job._ The boys looked at her sympathetically and Alya stared at her with knowing.

"What bakery was it? Maybe we knew it?" Adrien suggested, changing the subject yet again.

"It was the Tom and Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie on Gotlib Street." Marinette said without thinking. How odd that she even remembered the street it was on when there was no use for that information anymore?

"Oh yeah! I think I went in there once with some friends, dude that place had the best croissants!" Nino praised enthusiastically. Marinette smiled thoughtfully.

"Yeah, my dad always knew how to make them just right." She said wistfully, thinking of her parents. She and Alya never found out what happened to them, they had been out to dinner when the first wave had hit and never came back. And although it was a mystery, It was easy to infer their fate. Not wanting the subject to become awkward again, Marinette continued the conversation. "Adrien, you look really familiar to me, have we met?" He looked at her, very surprised that she seemed to be thinking the same thing. Nino began laughing though.

"Oh yeahhh! Dude Adrien here was a big model for his dad's clothing company, Gabriel Agreste? Ever heard of him? Adrien was the face of the company, you probably saw his posters all over Paris!" Nino explained. It all clicked and Marinette remembered seeing a billboard for some perfume or something with this blonde boy's face on it. To think the world used to be obsessed with such material superfluous items, now the thought of scented liquid being that important seemed laughable.

"Wow Gabriel Agreste? I was such huge fan of him, I used to want to be a fashion designer. I always watched the live streams from the runway shows." Marinette reminisced. They all laughed at the coincidence. "It's weird to think that only a year ago I used to care about such silly things." She pondered out loud.

"We all did Mari. It was how the world worked, no one was fighting for survival so with our free time we focused on trivial things like makeup and fashion and TV and movies." Alya surmised. The group nodded in agreement. They ended up talking for the next few hours, getting along splendidly. The girls found out Nino and them had even gone to the same school, but Adrien had been homeschooled. When it started getting dark out, the boys realized they had done no fishing and still had to walk home, but they all knew nighttime was when it was most dangerous. So Alya invited them to stay in their camp for the night. Sleeping outside was too dangerous so they'd all have to squeeze into the tent, but the large green tent was roomy enough.

Marinette ended up being squished between Alya and Adrien but was perfectly warm even in the cold autumn night. The girls had been worried about inviting two boys into a tent with them, but they were nothing but perfect gentlemen and kept thanking them profusely for letting them stay. With her new friends by her side, Marinette fell asleep with ease.

The next morning Alya finally offered the two starving boys some food, to which they gratefully accepted. They finally went fishing that day, and gave two of the fish they caught to the girls as a thank you gift. Then the time came for the new unlikely friends to leave.

"Are you sure you'll be safe?" Marinette asked worriedly and the boys packed up their supplies.

"Yeah Mari we'll be fine dude! We were able to trek all the way out here without any problems so I doubt we would have any on the way back!" Nino responded cheerfully. The whole group was happier at making new friends, a sense of companionship always brought joy to the soul.

"Okay but if you guys get into any trouble you can always come back here, got it?" She told them in a very maternal tone.

"We know, thank you guys so much for everything. I'm really glad we ran into you." Adrien said gently while smiling, Marinette began to blush.

"Yeah dude totally! Even if you guys held us at gunpoint and gave us a pat down first! No hard feelings about that by the way, we probably would've done the same." Nino reassured the girls. They all hugged, knowing there was always the chance they wouldn't see each other again. Marinette's cheeks reddened even more when she hugged Adrien. She didn't know why, was it possible she had… feelings for him? In the apocalypse? It was ridiculous to her but she couldn't help but admire his gorgeous face and kind words. Then they walked away, leaving the girls alone again as they watched their new friends disappear into the foliage from which they came, with streaks of orange still adorning the morning sky above. And suddenly Marinette remembered something. She was supposed to meet Chat today! Her excitement welled up at the prospect of seeing her new friend again as she got dressed and prepared to go scavenging.


	4. Chapter 4

Adrien and Nino made their way through the thick underbrush, cursing as they were scratched and poked by branches galore. They had known they couldn't stay at their new haven much longer, the two had already been a burden on the girls enough. So reluctantly, the boys left back to their city camp, and discussed their next plans.

"So like Agreste, do you think they would mind if we packed up and set up our own camp next to theirs? I'm tired of living in the city man, it smells awful and we're always in danger. Mari and Alya got a pretty sweet setup!" Nino said, staring off into space imagining the bright future. Adrien imagined it and thought it sounded great, being in nature with little worry about corpses, plus being near their new friends.

"I don't think they'd mind, as long as we provided for ourselves. I still feel guilty about eating some of their food this morning." Adrien said, rubbing his stomach that served as a reminder to their meal.

"Yeah me too, but I was about to pass out from hunger! At least we gave them fish to make up for it." His friend responded. Adrien thought about the idea of returning more and more, and it seemed like a perfect plan.

"Yeah that was a good idea. I think when we get back to camp we should scavenge a ton, pack up our stuff, and head out there again and propose forming a survivor group. We'll have more protection that way, I don't like the thought of just the two of them out there all alone. It makes me uneasy." Adrien trailed off, lost in thought.

"That sounds like a great plan dude! That's exactly what we'll do! But I'm pretty sure they can handle themselves, admit it, we were both shitting ourselves when Alya held the shotgun on us!" Nino laughed. "Hey, maybe you could even invite your Ladybug friend to join the group as well." He added in, waggling his eyebrows at Adrien. Adrien gasped, having forgotten all about that.

"Oh no! I'm supposed to meet her today! Nino we gotta get back to camp quickly, I don't want her to think we died or something!"

"Whoa chill Agreste, we'll be back before noon. You'll be able to meet your lady friend in time. But besides her, didn't you think our new friends were cute?" They both laughed at this, relaxing into the bro talk that used to be so common between them.

"Yeah they were. I noticed you eyeing Alya a lot bud." Adrien teased his friend, punching his arm lightly.

"Okay, you got me, I think she's more than cute. Maybe it's just 'cause they're the first girls our age I've seen in a while but Alya is pretty damn awesome if I do say so myself. And don't try to deny you thought Marinette was real pretty as well." He replied, punching Adrien in the arm in return.

"I mean yeah I think she's pretty, but I just keep thinking about Ladybug…" He trailed off dreamily.

"Well you'll get to see her today loverboy. Now let's hurry up and get back to camp dude, these woods are giving me a creepy feeling." They quickened their pace and jogged the whole way back. When they arrived, they saw their camp had indeed taken on a few unwelcome visitors. It was only two of them, shambling around with the skin sloughing off their bodies. The boys hesitantly approached the entrance to the alley, and prepared themselves.

"I'll get the one on the left, you go for the right." Adrien whispered feverently to Nino. Nino nodded and they both took out their hunting knives, not wanting the noise of a bullet to draw the attention of more of the creatures. Counting down on his fingers, the two stealthily approached them from behind. His heart beat frantically in his chest as he took a deep breath, then with one swift movement, Adrien slid his knife in the back of the body's head like butter and the thing collapsed. Gooey bits of brain matter and brown blood were left on his knife to which he grimaced, and he glanced over to see that Nino had already done the same to the other zombie. No matter how often they did this, the feeling was always the same. The terror and disgust when you realized this was once a person, someone who had people who loved them and cared for them, and you just bashed in their brain. They disposed of the bodies quickly, dragging them out of the alleyway and assessed the damage on their camp. Nothing seemed out of place besides the fact that their tent had collapsed. Working together, the boys put their camp back together exactly how it had been. Then checking the time, Adrien realized he needed to go.

He found his coat, cat ears, and goggles exactly where he had left them and put them on as quickly as possible. He ran his fingers through his hair, uncharacteristically nervous about his appearance. Nino noticed and snickered at the tall blonde, but didn't say anything. After making surehe had everything he needed, Adrien grabbed his scavenging pack and practically ran to the meeting place, eagerly awaiting the second when he would see his Lady again.


End file.
